PANEL - The Business Behind the Artist: Infrastructure, Income, and the Modern Team
Behind every successful artist is a well-built business. This panel brings together leaders from KOSIGN, Artist Growth, and Giggs to explore the systems, teams, and revenue strategies that power today’s artist careers. From building the right operational infrastructure and managing day-to-day workflows to sourcing trusted freelance talent and unlocking new income streams, panelists will share practical insights on how managers can scale efficiently and build sustainable, growth-focused businesses around their artists.
Featured Speakers:
Jason Feinberg, Head of KOSIGN
Jason Feinberg is a marketing, technology, and strategy executive who has held leadership roles at Kobalt, UMG, Pandora, Concord, and Epitaph. He combines musicianship and marketing with developer-level technology experience to grow fanbases, revenues, and businesses. Currently, Jason leads KOSIGN at Kobalt, helping independent songwriters collect their global royalties with industry-leading clarity, speed, and control. He is also a Lecturer at UCLA, teaching an upper-division Digital Marketing course he developed for the Music Industry major.Jason’s early days were spent as a software engineer, a college radio DJ and music director, an audio engineer, and an artist manager. When not building world-class teams and technology stacks, you can find Jason hunting for rare 70s punk vinyl or playing his trusty Gibson Explorer.
Matt Urmy, CEO & Founder, Artist Growth
Matt Urmy is a multi-faceted entrepreneur, musician, poet, and healer whose journey spans diverse creative and business landscapes. Born in New York City, Matt moved to Nashville at age 4, where his early immersion in the music industry sparked a lifelong passion for songwriting and performance. His artistic development continued through high school, expanding to include poetry alongside his musical pursuits. After initially majoring in poetry at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Matt took time away from formal education to travel and focus on music before returning to complete his degree in creative writing. His quest for knowledge and spiritual growth led him to New Zealand, where he lived among and studied with indigenous Maori healers—an experience he describes as deeply transformative. Upon returning to Knoxville, which served as his home base while touring as a musician, Matt furthered his formal education by earning an MFA from Spalding University. Matt's entrepreneurial spirit emerged prominently with the founding of Artist Growth, a platform created to help artists and creators manage their careers. Under his leadership, the company evolved into a leading enterprise roster management system serving the music and media industries.
Nikki Sans, Founder & CEO, Giggs
Nikki Sanz is the Founder and CEO of Giggs, the career platform and media company transforming how the live event industry hires and connects. She built Giggs after years of working shows herself — touring with artists like Eric Church and George Strait, and working gigs with Live Nation, CMA Fest, the Super Bowl, and more. Her work earned her a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30. Giggs has grown to more than 40,000 vetted professionals and 2,000 companies, helping fill thousands of jobs across concerts, festivals, touring, corporate events, and theater. Giggs has raised 1.2 million dollars from 35 investors and even landed a deal with Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph on Entrepreneur’s Elevator Pitch. Today, Giggs has become a true industry hub — bringing together hiring, media, events, education, and community. Nikki leads the team with a focus on inclusivity, innovation, and building a stronger, more connected workforce for the live event world.
Jake is an artist manager, he also advises music artists and technology companies on strategy and development. Jake has worked with self-releasing, and signed artists in Asia, Europe, and the USA. He has taken self-funded, self-releasing artists to #2 album chart success in the Netherlands, major label deals in the UK, and leading indie label deals in the USA. With a background in financial markets, he consults for rights technology companies, and rights holders. Music rights and royalties clients have included Beyonce, Rihanna, The Eagles, Radiohead, and The Clash. Jake has been part of music industry stakeholder dialogues with WIPO, EU, UK, US policy makers; and regularly speaks on artist management, and music industry innovation topics around the world. Jake is Director of Innovation & Education at the International Music Managers Forum (IMMF) connecting artists and managers from MMF US and 60 other countries, with committees on IP, Live, Finance, and all aspects of an artists business agenda. Funded by the European Commission and IMMF Jake led development of a music business education program covering all aspects of the industry. As part of Project Zero, supporting Ocean conservation projects, he is a keen scuba diver and used to cycle out to John Sweeney's house at weekends to discuss football and rock 'n' roll.
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